Fishing rods are known to comprise a handle portion and a reel portion. The handle portion is proximal to a user and has a grip which is useful for manipulating the fishing rod. Fishing rods generally include a reel seat attached to the handle. Reel seats are provided in numerous forms and engage with a reel foot of a fishing reel to releasably attach the fishing reel to the fishing rod.
Conventional fishing reel seats suffer from a number of disadvantages. Many known reel seats include a locking nut that clamps the fishing rod in place. Other known reel seats include locking grooves extending perpendicular to a length of the rod that are engaged by a clamp to lock the reel seat in a position. These grooves may be exposed on the handle of the rod when the reel seat is in a closed position. Conventional fishing reel seats may also include exposed metal or plastic surfaces that wrap at least partially around the fishing rod and frequently have exposed screw threads. The locking nuts, locking grooves, and other exposed surfaces of conventional reel seats are often located in the handle portion of the fishing rod and interfere with the user's grip of the fishing rod. Contact between the user's hands and the exposed screw threads is uncomfortable, reduces the user's chances of detecting a bite or strike by a fish by decreasing the user's sense of feel, complicates the user's ability to grip the rod, and poses a risk of loosening the attachment of the fishing reel to the fishing rod.
Some known reel seats use adhesive tape to fasten the fishing reel directly onto the handle of the fishing rod. Still other known reel seats use mechanical fasteners such as wire, string, thread, or cords to secure the fishing reel directly to the handle of the fishing rod. Reel seats comprised of adhesive tape or mechanical fasteners are not easy to install and prohibit a user from quickly removing, installing, or adjusting the connection between a fishing reel and a fishing rod. Further, the user's hands frequently contact the adhesive tape or mechanical fastener. Contact with the adhesive tape is uncomfortable and may transfer adhesive to the user's hand, particularly on hot or sunny days. The contact with the user's hands may also loosen or damage the adhesive tape or mechanical fasteners such that they fail to adequately secure the reel to the rod.
Accordingly, there is an unmet need for a reel seat that enables a user to quickly install and remove a fishing reel in the reel seat and allows the user to grip a handle of a fishing rod without contacting components of the reel seat.